Toby Tyler; Or, Ten Weeks with a CircusOtis, James
General
Toby Tyler; Or, Ten Weeks with a Circus
Otis, James
Circus -- Fiction; Runaways -- Fiction
Ella was quite as well pleased with her sash as Toby was with his
costume, and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Treat in a pretty little way that made
Toby wish he could say anything half so nicely.
The hour which the skeleton had devoted for the purpose of the
presentation and accompanying speeches having elapsed, it was necessary
that Ella and Toby should go, and that the doors of the exhibition be
opened at once, in order to give any of the public an opportunity of
seeing what the placards announced as two of the greatest curiosities on
the face of the globe.
That day, while Toby performed his arduous labors, his heart was very
light, for the evidences which the skeleton and his wife had given of
their regard for him were very gratifying. He determined that he would
do his very best to please so long as he was with the circus, and then,
when he got a chance to run away, he would do so, but not until he had
said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Treat, and thanked them again for their
interest in him.
When he had finished his work in the tent that night Mr. Lord said to
him, as he patted him on the back in the most fatherly fashion, and as
if he had never spoken a harsh word to him, "You can't come in here to
sell candy now that you are one of the performers, my boy; an' if I can
find another boy to-morrow you won't have to work in the booth any
longer, an' your salary of a dollar a week will go on just the same,
even if you don't have anything to do but to ride."
This was a bit of news that was as welcome to Toby as it was unexpected,
and he felt more happy then than he had for the ten weeks that he had
been travelling under Mr. Lord's cruel mastership.
But there was one thing that night that rather damped his joy, and that
was that he noticed that Mr. Lord was unusually careful to watch him,
not even allowing him to go outside the tent without following. He saw
at once that, if he was to have a more easy time, his chances for
running away were greatly diminished, and no number of beautiful
costumes would have made him content to stay with the circus one moment
longer than was absolutely necessary.
That night he told Old Ben of the events of the day, and expressed the
hope that he might acquit himself creditably when he made his first
appearance on the following day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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